Embracing an open network: But with an eye toward the challenges

SAN FRANCISCO — CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008 officially opened its doors Wednesday with keynotes focusing on how carriers are beginning to open their doors. The chase and challenge of creating an open wireless network glistened as a top priority among keynote speakers Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile USA Inc., Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel Corp. and Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless. Hesse kicked off the discussion, saying that only 3% of the Internet is available to wireless customers, which is a problem because, as Hesse put it, they want it all. With Sprint Nextel’s launch of One Click, a carousel of buttons linking directly to popular Web portals, Hesse said the new mantra Sprint Nextel is relaying to customers is “‘knock your self out.”
“The entire Internet is yours,” Hesse said.
With Sprint Nextel’s (fingers crossed) launch of WiMAX in Baltimore this month, Hesse affirmed plans to bring a plethora of devices to the network, guiding open network enthusiasts to bring DVD players, computers, etc., to retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City, where a chip will be waiting.
Addressing T-Mobile USA’s role in the open atmosphere, Dotson said the carrier is concentrating on taking the devices and the software applications and figuring how exactly they get opened. Now that T-Mobile USA has launched 3G technology in multiple markets, Dotson went on to identify the urgency in establishing that network.
“[The] most important [thing] is ‘How do we extend all the innovation that you didn’t see in 2G?'” Dotson said.
Verizon Wireless’ McAdam noted that open networks are inevitable whether people are for or against it.
“My opinion and the carrier’s opinion about open are irrelevant,” McAdam said.
Already entertaining two non-handset devices on its network, McAdam said because of the tidal wave of innovation, new applications, etc., it would be too much for Verizon Wireless to handle on its own.
Then the reality steps in. Look at it this way, you wouldn’t open the door of your home to any common stranger to come in and do whatever they want, eat your food and even provide your children with products or ideas that you’d never want them to see. Opening a wireless network boasts the same concerns for carriers. Dotson enforced that in spite of being completely open, there needs to be some stewardship and control of the networks. Referring to an open network as the “wild,wild west,” Dotson said innovation is most productive in an environment where there is some control.
“Not control in terms of stifling,” Dotson said. “A true wild, wild west in an open environment is a poor customer experience.”
And while Sprint Nextel prepares for this open demand situation, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless have put the vacancy sign on their networks. Verizon Wireless launched an open access Web site in June, allowing possible network riders to bring devices to the carrier to be tested, tried and eventually put out on the network.
Dotson confirmed the common knowledge that anyone with a GSM device can hop on to the carrier’s network, but with limitations. “The number of devices that go on our network is a big double-digit,” Dotson said. “But people that put those devices on our network have a less than good T-Mobile experience.”
Another challenge comes organically. Hesse touched on the fact that the Web can be overwhelming.
“The big Internet can be daunting,” Hesse said. “There can be too much choice.”
And with confusion comes customer service. McAdam said because everything is open to other people, some of that load gets lifted off Verizon’s shoulders and eventually will become a different transition that the carriers and customers will have to implement and understand. Home Internet service is a good example.
“When your PC breaks down, you don’t call the cable provider,” McAdam said.
Hesse, McAdam and Dotson all hinted toward the day when home PC would be obsolete and the desktop may be in trouble.
“Even though customers plug in when they get home, if the device isn’t mobile it won’t survive,” Hesse said. “If I can’t take it with me, it’s irrelevant.”
Dotson showed confidence in this area as well, saying that U.S. carriers and developers are well positioned as they continue to make mobile phones just as accessible and Internet-driven as PCs; wireless revenues will continue to explode. However, one minor obvious challenge remains: “The transition has been difficult,” Dotson said. “How do you take a PC on put it on a two-inch screen?”